Top 5 hotels to visit for Valentine’s Day

by Melanie Nayer on

It’s Valentine’s Day… that special Hallmark holiday when women swoon over heart shaped candies and men scurry at the last minute to find anything red that might suffice as a thoughtful gift. But let’s be real, teddy bears and chocolates are so cliche. Unless it comes in a little blue box with a white ribbon, you’re going to have to start upping your game on Valentine’s Day.

Good news lovers: We’ve found the perfect way for you wow your partner, and also enjoy a little bit of the holiday for yourself. These five hotels have everything you could want for the perfect Valentine’s Day – romance, seclusion, and of course, room service.

  1. Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac, Quebec, Canada. Take your princess to a castle in Canada and cuddle up in storybook fashion at the Fairmont Frontenac in Quebec. The hotel, declared a World Heritage site from the UN, has an old-world European charm that captures any heart.
  2. XV Beacon, Boston, Massachusetts. The hotel is a hidden gem in one of the most cosmopolitan cities. XV Beacon sits right on Boston’s historic Beacon Hill and offers amazing views of the copper-domed state house, Boston Common and the Boston skyline. What’s more, each room comes complete with a fireplace – the perfect excuse to cuddle up on a cold winter’s night.
  3. El Dorado Resorts, Riveria Maya, Mexico: Escape to Mexico for a little romance in the Riveria Maya. The all-inclusive El Dorado Resorts offers three classes of rooms for various price-points, all with ocean views and in-room jacquzzis. Hint: Champagne goes really well with that bath.
  4. Jade Mountain: St. Lucia’s most romantic resort includes infinity pools, endless spa services and the utmost privacy. Enjoy restaurants, bars, boutiques, art gallery, spa, water sports or just spend time at the beach in Jade Mountain.
  5. Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, California: Nothing says romance like roasting marshmallows at an outside fire pit while watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. The Ritz-Carlton, Half Moon Bay, is located only 23 miles from San Francisco, making it an easy jaunt for last-minute travelers wanting to impress.

Woman dies in Philadelphia hotel after cosmetic buttocks injection

by Laurel Miller on

A 20-year old British woman died in a Hampton Inn near the Philadelphia airport on Tuesday, after silicone injections in her posterior didn’t go as planned. AOL News reports that Claudia Adusei and three friends arrived from London on Saturday, and were staying at the hotel. Adusei and one of the friends had visited Philadelphia last November to have their buttocks’ enhanced with silicone (are you noticing the absence of a medical professional or facility in this story?). The duo returned so Adusei could have additional buttocks injections, while her friend had hip augmentation (are you also noticing the irony of women actually paying money to make their butt and hips larger?).

Although silicone is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for cosmetic use, the injection of liquid silicone for cosmetic purposes is prohibited. Silicone implants are medically approved for buttock augmentation, as is fat transfer.

Adusei received injections at noon on Monday, after two women showed up at the hotel to perform the procedures. Only one woman is believed to have performed the injections, and Adusei began complaining of chest pains approximately 12 hours after the procedure, according to police. The suspects vanished shortly thereafter.

Paramedics rushed Adusei to Mercy-Fitzgerald Hospital in Delaware County; court documents state she died around 1:30 a.m. A preliminary medical exam indicates that Adusei may have died from silicone entering her vascular system, which would have stopped her heart, says the Delaware County medical examiner. An autopsy must still be completed, and toxicology reports won’t be released for at least six weeks.

[Photo credit: Flickr user [lauren nelson]]”In order to make the buttocks big with liquid silicone, you have to inject a lot of it, and use a large-gauge needle because silicone is really thick–and this could easily get into the blood stream,” explains Dr. Steven Victor, a cosmetic dermatologist in New York City who was consulted by FoxNews. “When this happens, there could be several outcomes. You could have a stroke because it could go to the brain. It could also travel to other vital organs like the lungs, the heart, the kidneys, and liver. This could be extremely detrimental, including death…We need to regulate this kind of activity better and educate the public.”

Tip: Before contemplating any type of cosmetic procedure or plastic surgery, contact the American Society of Plastic Surgeons to check credentials. Then do your homework. If something sounds too good–or cheap–to be true, it probably is.

As for the women who performed the procedures? Police are searching for them, after being tipped off that the procedures were arranged over the Internet. Lt. John Walker of the Philadelphia Police southwest detectives division says that it’s unknown at this time whether the “person performing that procedure is licensed or unlicensed.” The FDA as well as British embassy officials are also investigating Adusei’s death.

The Bidding Traveler takes the pain out of becoming a Priceline expert

by Scott Carmichael on

Back in 2009, Gadling posted a list of tips on how to become a Priceline expert. In that article, we discussed things like “free rebids” and how to find the best way to determine how much to bid.

Now, two years later, a site has been developed that can take all the pain out that process. The Bidding Traveler knows everything there is to know about bidding on Priceline and all the tricks you can apply to booking a room with the Priceline “Name your Price” method.

Forget “The Negotiator” – when you start your booking process on The Bidding Traveler, it’ll walk you through the entire process. Once you’ve made your selections, you can manually enter them on Priceline.com, or let the site do it all for you.

You start by entering the city, followed by the dates you need. The site then presents the current known zone and hotel map for your destination. Pick the zone you want, then the star rating. Based on this, it’ll tell you the best numbers to bid. The site gets its information from previous users and successful/failed bids.

I’ve played around with this new site quite a bit, and find it utterly brilliant. Instead of having to do all your own research, The Bidding Traveler holds your hand and does all the hard work for you.

The site is still a work in progress, but everything I tried worked perfectly. Take it for a spin yourself next time you you need a hotel room and don’t mind gambling on Priceline.

First Virgin Hotel to open in New Mexico

by Melanie Nayer on

We expected something a little more glamorous from the Virgin crew, but our friends at HotelChatter report that Sir Richard Branson’s first hotel will open in New Mexico. Seems the voyageur needs a little place to sleep before lifting off to orbit from Virgin Galactic Spaceport headquarters (located in New Mexico).

The good news is that there’s more coming. Branson told HotelChatter that San Francisco and Washington DC are still top targets for Virgin Hotels. Here at Gadling, we’re pretty confident we’ll see a few Virgin Hotels pop up in Chicago and New York, and even across the pond in London. *When* seems to be the multi-billion dollar question.

As for what you can expect from the hotels? Mums the word for now, but we know that each hotel will be “unique” and of “interesting, authentic and high quality” design. And, we’re quite sure there will be something special for guests when they check-in, not unlike the unique service one gets flying with the Virgin crew.

Former TWA terminal at JFK airport could become boutique hotel

by Melanie Nayer on

It appears second chances do exist in the travel industry. The Wall Street Journal reports that the former TWA terminal at New York’s JFK airport might re-open in the form of a boutique hotel.

The terminal was first opened in 1962 and welcomed travelers into the international port, but was closed in 2001 when American Airlines bought TWA, according to USA Today.

The rumor around the airport is that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the airport, would place a 150-room hotel into the unoccupied area that sits between the TWA terminal and the newer JetBlue terminal. The WSJ reports that the space would also house additional restaurants and shops.

Our prediction: If the airport turns this space into a hotel it could be a cash-cow opportunity for the airport. With JetBlue’s international affiliations and most flights arriving and leaving from T6, where the hotel would be near, this could mean a few overnight travelers thanks to redeye flights and international schedules.